The New Tri-State Defender - March 24-30, 2022

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VOL. 71, No. 12

Guilty!

March 24 - 30, 2022

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Billy Ray Turner gets life for murdering Memphis ‘sacred son’ Lorenzen Wright

by Adrian Sainz Associated Press

A jury on Monday convicted Billy Ray Turner in the slaying of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, whose bullet-riddled body was found in a field nearly 12 years ago in his hometown of Memphis.

The 12-person jury deliberated for about two hours before it found Turner guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of Wright, a 6-foot, 11inch center who played 13 seasons in the NBA before he retired after the 2008-2009 season.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee sentenced Turner, 51, to life in prison for the murder

conviction. He will be sentenced for the other charges at a later date.

Coffee called Wright “a sacred son” of Memphis and told his mother, Deborah Marion, that the trial might not bring her closure but to “celebrate the good” about her son.

Outside the courtroom, Marion told reporters she was elated with the verdict. She said she would visit her son’s grave Monday night.

It’ll never be closure, because I’ll never see my son again,” Marion said. “This is just some satisfaction for me and my family.”

The slaying is one of the most highly publicized murder cases in Memphis history. Wright’s decomposing body was found riddled with bullet wounds in a swampy field in

Jason Mumpower

Deborah Marion speaking with media after a Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted Billy Ray Turner of the first-degree murder of her son, Lorenzen Wright. (Photo: Special to The New Tri-State Defender) east Memphis on July 28, 2010. The 34-year-old father of six had been missing for days before his body was discovered.

Turner had already pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon as a convicted felon after he was found with two guns when he was arrested in Wright’s killing in 2017. Turner is serving a 16-year prison sentence on

the separate gun charge.

Prosecutors allege Wright’s exwife, Sherra Wright, masterminded a plan to kill her ex-husband and recruited Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to help her.

Turner and Sherra Wright were indicted in December 2017, more than

SEE GUILTY ON PAGE 2

Tigers advance toward reconstruction of a tournament-threat culture

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The underpinning for winning and losing basketball programs is the “culture,” with head coaches responsible for building or maintaining it.

The new ones pronounce their winning-culture intentions from day one and then embark on the journey of ascension.

Four years after taking the helm at his alma mater, University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway guided the Tigers back to the NCAA tournament, winning the first-round game against Boise State and pushing top-ranked Gonzaga to the brink of an upset.

The loss – painful as it was for players, coaches and fans – was an experience that Hardaway views as an important building block in the Tigers’ ongoing reconstruction of a culture that yields perennial tournament appearances and the tantalizing possibilities of making a deep run and going all the way.

Noting the pride he has in this season’s Tigers, Hardaway said he told his players just that moments after the defeat.

“We saw a really good team, we saw the best, they’re labeled that,” said Hardaway. “They showed why they were the best … that’s the bar, that’s the culture that we have to get to. (Gonzaga) Coach Mark Few has done an unbelievable job to get his program to where it is now and that’s what we’re pushing towards now.

“Our guys got a clinic on what it

Penny Hardaway’s first appearance as head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers generated a buzz - just as expected -that reverberated throughout the city. (Photo: Terry Davis/The New TriState Defender Archives) looks like to be professional, play hard, do things on both ends of the floor and whatever it takes to win.”

Having won the NIT championship last season and now having come within a whisker of the NCAA Sweet 16, Hardaway was asked about the value of the progression.

“It’s very important but I’m fully aware of when the season starts that you have to take care of business early to get your respect late,” he said. “They’ve been consistent and we weren’t. So, you have to go into June and July with the mindset of this is what’s going to get us to where we need to be when it comes to March.

SEE TIGERS ON PAGE 2

With time expired and the Tigers’ chances of advancing dashed, Alex Lomax (left) and Lester Quinones stride off the court of the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. (Photo: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender)

$1.00

Virginia Rivers

Majority-Black Mason, TN gets reprieve from state takeover Black Caucus steps in to ‘monitor the process’

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Members of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators (TBCSL) on Tuesday (March 22) met with Tennessee state Comptroller Jason Mumpower and Mason, Tennessee Vice-Mayor Virginia Rivers to help iron out a squabble over the town’s $597,000 deficit.

Disturbed to learn that the state of Tennessee had initiated steps to take over the majority African-American town in Tipton County, the lawmakers learned in the meeting that an agreement already had been forged.

Mumpower told lawmakers that some of the state’s federal dollars would be used to pay down Mason’s deficit.

“Even State Comptroller Jason Mumpower had to admit that the optics of a white Republican-led state government taking over the predominantly African-American town of Mason looked really bad,” said state Rep. G.A. Hardaway, a Memphis Democrat and immediate past president of TBCSL. “Mumpower then told us that the state had worked out a mutually agreeable plan with Mason. It was good to know they were communicating.”

Mumpower said, “We spoke to Mason officials earlier today, and a plan has been worked out that will utilize American Rescue Plan dollars. …

The roughly $250,000 will allow the town to catch up on its debt. That’s nearly half of the discrepancy.”

Periodic, follow-up meetings with the Black Caucus will be scheduled with the comptroller and Mason officials to make sure the plan is putting Mason “back on the right track” because the city “must be preserved,” Hardaway said.

“We had to get involved to make sure Mason is kept intact,” said Hardaway.

“The economic boom of Ford’s $5.6 billion investment to build an electric vehicle plant just 4.5 miles from Mason is huge. We want to make sure the people of Mason get the maximum benefit from the great prospects for massive economic development.”

SEE MASON ON PAGE 2

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The New Tri-State Defender

Supreme Court hearings bring culture wars, tears WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not just Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who is being scrutinized. Senators are also being watched at this milestone moment in history considering the first Black woman for the high court.

Some senators have been overcome with “joy,” as Cory Booker of New Jersey described the swell of emotion he felt over the potential to confirm a judge who would help the court look more like America.

Others, led by Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, quizzed the federal judge about her views on issues of race and crime, amplifying election year grievances and a backlash over changing culture.

Jackson appeared Wednesday for the third day of tense hearings at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, providing a vivid portrait of the nation’s promise, but also its enduring racial challenges.

At one point, she held back bittersweet, if joyful, tears as Booker spoke of all that has brought her to this point: “You’re here.”

Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, opened Wednesday lamenting that his panel had become “the testing ground for conspiracy theories and culture war theories.”

Nevertheless, he declared, “America is ready for the Supreme Court glass ceiling to finally shatter.”

Jackson is the first federal public defender to be nominated to the Supreme Court and her efforts representing those accused of crimes, alongside her work as a federal judge, have provided a lengthy record of difficult cases for senators to review.

Republicans have particularly focused on the emotional and disputed debate over the judge’s record sentencing child pornography offenders to portray her as soft on crime. Critics say she brings too much “empathy” to the law.

Democrats argue that Jackson, who comes from a family with police officers, is backed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the large law enforcement organization.

Jackson’s record is being scrutinized much the way the work of the first Black nominee to the court, Thurgood Marshall, the storied civil rights attorney, was probed for representing criminal defendants a half a century ago.

Jackson has presented herself as a judge who relies on method, not judicial philosophy, to remain neutral as she works to “stay in my lane” as a judge rather than a public policy-maker.

She expanded on that view Wednesday reminding senators that the Constitution gives Congress the power to make laws and the courts the power to interpret them.

Jackson made news by saying, if confirmed, she would recuse herself from hearing an affirmative action case at Harvard University, her alma mater, where she now serves on Harvard’s Board of Overseers.

Republicans have tried to portray Jackson as a potentially activist justice, a judge who has shown “empathy” for defendants and cases that they argue goes too far for a position on the high court, which is now tilted 6-3 toward conservatives.

Senators on the Republican side are repeatedly returning to issues of race and crime, focusing on the child pornography offenders that the judge herself has said are among the most difficult of her career – some that still give her nightmares.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., picked up the arguments anew, arguing that Jackson as a judge should have imposed tougher sentences on child porn defendants rather than applying other deterrents despite fact-checkers and other experts who have said the terms Jackson handed down are within norms of federal guidelines.

Democrats have the potential with their slim majority in the 50-50 Senate to confirm Jackson as President Joe Biden’s choice to replace retiring Justice Stephen. Her nomination is on track for a vote by Easter.

March 24 - 30, 2022

Page 2

NEWS

GUILTY

CONTINUED FROM FRONT seven years after the killing. Sherra Wright entered a surprise guilty plea to facilitation of murder in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Turner is a landscaper who knew Sherra Wright from church and, according to prosecutors, had a secret romantic relationship with her.

At the time of Wright’s slaying, Martin was facing charges of killing his girlfriend, and he said his cousin helped pay part of his legal fees.

Martin was convicted and is currently serving prison time, in that case.

He has received immunity from prosecution in the Wright case.

Martin testified that Sherra Wright recruited him and Turner to kill Lorenzen Wright. Parts of his testimony were challenged by defense attorney John Keith Perry, who said the information Martin gave to investigators was a farce and full of lies.

Martin testified that he and Turner met with Sherra Wright to plan the killing and went to Lorenzen Wright’s condominium in Atlanta to shoot him, with an understanding that he would get paid.

Armed with handguns, Turner and Martin went to Wright’s condo in Atlanta, entered through a window and found someone sleeping on the couch in the living room — but it was not Lorenzen Wright, Martin testified.

Turner and Martin returned home without killing anyone.

Martin told prosecutor Paul Hagerman that he was in Batesville, Mississippi at the time of the shooting just after midnight on July 19, 2010. Martin said he went to the Memphis field with Sherra Wright some days after the shooting and she essentially confessed.

Lorenzen Wright was visiting Memphis from Atlanta. Sherra Wright said she lured her ex-husband to the field by telling him that she was going to meet someone there to get some money, Martin testified. According to Martin, she said that she and Turner ambushed and chased Lorenzen Wright, who jumped a fence and tried to run away before they shot him in the field.

The jury heard a chilling 911 call made by Lorenzen Wright that captured the pop-pop-pop sound of multiple gunshots.

MASON

CONTINUED FROM FRONT Vice-Mayor Virginia Rivers had denounced Mumpower’s early-March demand to “give up the city charter or face the state’s takeover.”

After the town fought against surrendering its charter, the Comptroller’s Office announced it was taking control of Mason’s finances.

Tennessee government’s proposed seizure captured national attention, prompting Mumpower to admit during Tuesday’s meeting that “the optics were horrible.”

Mason’s financial woes date back 20 years under a “white mayor,”

The family of Lorenzen Wright held annual vigils such as this one outside FedExForum as they awaited justice in the 2010 killing of the NBA veteran whose basketball prowess was nurtured in his hometown, Memphis. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender Archives)

Martin also said Turner and Wright got rid of evidence from the shooting scene and he went with Turner to dispose of the weapon by dumping it in a north Mississippi lake. Martin said he told detectives in 2012 where the gun was located. It was later found by

FBI divers.

In closing arguments, defense attorney John Keith Perry said Martin’s “crazy, contrived” story was not believable. Perry said Martin — not Turner — was in Memphis the night Lorenzen Wright was shot.

Prosecutor Hagerman defended Martin’s testimony, saying Martin’s immunity agreement required him to tell the truth and statements given to investigators and prosecutors have been consistent.

Prosecutor Austin Scofield said Sherra Wright told Turner during a meeting at her house that Lorenzen Wright had a hit out on her.

Citing witness testimony, Scofield said Turner responded: “What do you want me to do, Sherra?”

Neither Turner nor Sherra Wright testified during the trial.

A motive for the slaying was not clear, though Hagerman said the killers were driven by jealousy and greed.

Sherra Wright received $1 million from her ex-husband’s life insurance policy and settled a court dispute in 2014 over how she spent the insurance money meant to benefit their six children.

Marion, the slain player’s mother, said she’s convinced the insurance policy was Sherra Wright’s motivation.

“That’s what it was about. Money,” Marion said.

leading many to label the takeover after all this time as “hostile,” with racial motives, according to Rivers.

Nearly 72 percent of Mason’s total population, the mayor, and five of its six aldermen, all are African Americans.

Rivers said the present administration came to power in 2015, facing a deficit of millions through “mismanagement and fraud of prior administrations.”

Rivers said the town had done well in paying down the initial arrears.

Mumpower’s partial $250,000 solution comes from The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the “COVID-19 Stimulus Package,” which set aside $1.9 trillion in economic stimulus for states, to ease

financial devastation caused by the pandemic. It became effective on Mar 11, 2021.

Parkinson said there would be careful observance of the situation going forward to guarantee fairness.

“The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators will closely monitor the state’s financial supervision of Mason,” said Parkinson.

“We want to ensure fairness and transparency. Good communication is needed to put Mason back in position to get the maximum benefit of Ford’s BlueOval City. We will act as monitors of the process.”

Parkinson said the Ford Motor Company expressed a willingness Tuesday to help the town of Mason.

However, Hardaway told Mason officials that a comprehensive plan for repayment of the deficit should first be put in place, prior to Ford being brought into the process.

Ford’s $5.6 billion investment calls for plans to build a plant producing the “next generation electric vehicles,” bringing more than 26,000 new jobs to the area.

When first given the choices of either surrendering the city charter, or having the state come in and take over finances, Mason’s mayor and aldermen voted “no” on surrendering the charter.

“Our charter is 153 years old,” said Rivers. “We could never do that. This is our city. This is our home.”

Bill Ray Turner looks toward onlookers as he enters court ahead of final arguments in his murder trial. (Photo: Special to The New Tri-State Defender)

CORRECTIONS

“When I look back on this season, I can be proud.

But for sure, when the buzzer (rang) I was heartbroken” — Tyler Harris TIGERS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “We’re really not a 9 seed but we put ourselves in a really bad predicament early and we fought our way up to get to a 9 seed. But what it tells me is we have work to do. But we understand now and the players understand now how important it is to come into the season being focused and have a culture, a family for the whole time on and off the court.”

Memphis guard Tyler Harris said although the Tigers struggled for a significant part of the season, he and his teammates went into the game with the mentality that they were the No. 1 seed.

“When the horn blows at the end we were heartbroken because we wanted to get the win, but looking back at the season we fought back

through all the adversity we had, losing, all the media talking bad on our team,” said Harris.

“We came together and stayed a family and we ended up making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. So, when I look back on this season, I can be proud. But for sure, when the buzzer (rang) I was heartbroken.”

Acknowledging that Gonzaga’s star forward proved unstoppable and “showed who he was,” Memphis forward DeAndre Williams, said, “We knew we could go out there and play with those guys. …

“They (were) very resilient. They played together, they (were) poised, and like Coach (Hardaway) said they showed us the bar. That’s what we gotta do when we look forward to playing big teams like that.

“We’ve just got to be ready to play.”

• An anecdote regarding segregated dining at the National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee mistakenly was included in a story about nuclear physicist Lila Smith in the March 17-23, 2022 edition. The experience actually was that of Orange Mound historian Mary Mitchell. Also, Lila Smith’s protests against segregated housing in Oak Ridge were done without a picket sign. The story incorrectly stated otherwise.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few has words of acknowledgment for the winning effort of Memphis guard Tyler Harris, who came up big for the Tigers in the first half. (Photo: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender)

• A photograph of students jumping for joy about the kickoff of LeMoyne-Owen College’s yearlong celebration of its 160th anniversary was taken by Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises. The caption in the March 17-23, 2022 edition included an incorrect photo credit.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 24 - 30, 2022

Page 3

NEWS

Women’s History Month: Women in Business – Part 4

by Candace A. Gray

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Nicola Vassell made history last summer as the first African-American woman to own her own large-scale, contemporary art gallery, the Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York City. Seeing that art is such an integral part of our culture, I was blown away to learn about Vassell’s work, first as an art curator and dealer and now gallery owner.

But isn’t that what we do?

We make space for ourselves.

If we don’t have a seat at the table, we make our own table or we open a new spot with our own tables and chairs.

That’s just what local artist, Rose Marr, has done with her art gallery, designed to pay homage to her late mother, folk artist Mary “Mayfair” Matthews.

Marr’s hope is that, through her work with The Mayfair Art Gallery, her mother will posthumously join the ranks of women among notable African-American artists.

TSD: What type of business do you own?

Rose Marr: “I own a homebased art gallery that is dedicated to showcasing the artwork of my deceased mother, Mayfair, a self-taught folk artist.

“The gallery includes my personal collection of other local Black artists in Memphis, including my own artwork created in my home studio. The gallery offers original Mayfair artwork for sale as well as prints of some of her original paintings.”

TSD: How long have you been in the art industry and in business for yourself?

R.M.: “I opened my gallery in the spring of 2020 when I retired early as an educator in Oakland, California and returned to Memphis. I grew up in Memphis but lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 26 years.

“Art has always been an important part of my life, beginning in my early childhood when I would draw portraits of Black celebrities from photographs that I found in Jet and Ebony magazines.

“I maintained my passion for art throughout high school and eventually attended Memphis College of Art and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts. While living in California, I found myself divorced and the single parent of a toddler, needing to make something happen quickly. This circumstance led me to a career

pass on to her children. In addition, I hope that the gallery will be instrumental in getting my mother recognized internationally and would love to have her artwork exhibited and collected throughout the world.”

AT A GLANCE Business Name: The Mayfair Art Gallery Owner’s Name: Rose Marr

Rose Marr, artist and owner of The Mayfair Art Gallery as a high school art teacher and later, a high school administrator.”

TSD: How many employees do you have?

R.M.: “I have one employee – me.”

TSD: What was your inspiration for going into art and starting your gallery?

R.M.: “My inspiration for establishing The Mayfair Art Gallery was my earnest desire to honor my mother by creating a space where people could see and experience my mother’s artwork in person.

“In addition to the joy she found in making art, my mother found so much joy in sharing her art with others. When she passed in 2011, she was very obscure, despite the quality and quantity of work she produced late in her life.

“When the opportunity for me to retire and return to Memphis arose, I knew that my focus would be promoting my mother’s life story and her art, to create the legacy she deserved.”

TSD: What challenges have you faced as an artist and business owner, and how have you risen above them?

R.M.: “My home setting/ design studio is the perfect place for The Mayfair Art Gallery and keeps my business overhead low. Because my business is in my home, I schedule showings by appointment only.

“The biggest challenge since opening … was the restrictions of social contact brought about due to COVID-19. But in recent weeks, as (virus infection) rates have decreased,

Marr’s work “Let Her Eat Cake” (drawing of her mother, Mayfair) I have started inviting guests to the gallery, including a recent gallery reception to celebrate what would have been my mother’s 84th birthday.”

TSD: As a soon-to-be-wife, and now a business owner, how do you balance it all?

R.M.: “Fortunately for me, my fiancé, Carl Scott, is also a practicing artist. Although we did not know each other at the time, we are both graduates of Memphis College of Art; he in 1985 and me in 1992.

“His support with the gallery and my personal art practice is seamless and the perfect complement.

“In addition to being an artist, he is also a professional art framer and does art installations. His connection to the local art community has been a huge benefit to introducing me and the gallery to the Memphis community and beyond.

“Our mutual passion for the arts is the centerpiece of our union. We take frequent day trips to visit museums and galleries in neighboring states. He is definitely the yin to my yang, and I am certain that the timing of our meeting was one of divine intervention.”

TSD: What impact does your business have, or do you hope your business will have in the future? On your family, community, etc.

R.M.: “My hope is that The Mayfair Art Gallery will lead to my mother being acknowledged as one of the greatest

folk artists ever, as I know her to be ...

“With the anticipated success of establishing my mother’s legacy as a uniquely gifted artist, I believe that my small family will have a greater appreciation for and value of the massive art collection she left behind.

“My mother was born into sharecropping and had a thirdgrade education. When she became an artist late in life, she viewed it as an opportunity to establish an estate to

TSD: What advice do you have for someone who might be interested in entering your field?

R.M.: “My advice to anyone who wants to start an art gallery business is to just go for it and don’t allow the challenge of securing a facility to become a barrier. This is especially true if one is an artist, has a loved one who is an artist, or one who is a collector of art.

“I believe that any home could incorporate art into its setting and create an art experience that others can enjoy.

And with access to social media and the internet, there are unlimited marketing opportunities.”

TSD: What advice do you have for other Black business owner hopefuls?

R.M.: “My advice to other Black business hopefuls is to be of courage and confidence: If you build it, they will come.”

TSD: If you weren’t doing this, what else would you be doing?

R.M.: “Aside from growing The Mayfair Gallery, I will be launching my education consulting business later this year: School Culture Consultancy.

“Working with urban youth in education is another huge passion of mine. My 20-plus years as an educator in the Oakland Unified School District has provided me with an arsenal of best practices to create school cultures where urban students can feel safe and learn. I absolutely loved my role as an urban educator and miss it terribly…”

TSD: What professional accomplishments or major milestone are you most proud of?

R.M.: “I am most proud of being a first-generation college graduate and continuing my education to acquire my Master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Memphis… (that) allowed me to establish a rewarding career as an educator and raise my young son as a single mother without a support system while living in Oakland, California.

“My son, Jonathan Hunt, Jr., is now 25 years old and has been in the Air Force approaching four years. He is stationed in Japan, loves his career, and has the opportunity to travel the world. I am also very proud of him.”

TSD: Anything else you would like to add?

R.M.: The Mayfair Art Gallery website is still a work in progress. However, anyone interested in visiting the gallery, located in Cordova, can call me to schedule a showing by appointment at 510-978-1706.

Email: mayfair.folkart@ gmail.com.

Uplift the Community Grant Are you interested in having a positive impact on your community and need an “Uplift” to get you started?

The NAACP Memphis Branch, The New Tri-State Defender and Kroger Delta Division are partnering on the Uplift Your Community Grant Program.

If you are a 501(C)3 and have a program or idea on how to:

Improve your community Decrease crime Decrease blight Please consider applying for the grant.

The grant application process opens on March 4, 2022 and closes on March 31, 2022.

The grants will be awarded on April 29, 2022.

For more information about grant criteria, visit the NAACP Memphis Branch website at www.naacpmemphis.org.

THE NEW

TRI-STATE DEFENDER

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, March 24 - 30, 2022, Page 4

The ongoing effort of the SoulsvilleUSA Neighborhoods Development District to secure a TIF (tax-increment financing) designation for South Memphis led to this December 2021 gathering. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender Archives)

A SouslvilleUSA strategy for crime reduction

by Jeffrey T. Higgs

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As crime and the perception of crime explodes around our city, I am drawn to facts and theories I have developed over the years regarding crime, its causes and how best to reduce it.

Contrary to what you hear, crime has been reduced in our city, especially in areas where urban community economic development (UCED) has occurred and is led by community-engaged leaders, CDCs, nonprofits and churches, all working together to ensure our communities are safe places to live, work and play.

One such community is SoulsvilleUSA. When we started this journey in 1999, community leaders like Marlon Foster, Andy Cates, Reginald Milton, Robert Lipscomb, Deannie Parker and others collaborated with LeMoyne-Owen College and Metropolitan Baptist Church, to create a place where residents felt safe, families could thrive, children could learn, and all were welcomed.

What we knew then was we were working on “holy ground.”

Dedicated community organizations such as LeMoyne-Owen and its 160 years of educating young people; STAX Records and its historic creation of the “music of our lives” that represented an era of progress for Black people; Metropolitan Baptist Church, where Dr. King would meet and strategize; the intersection of Mississippi Boulevard and Walker Avenue, where Ida B. Wells and Peeples Grocery stood as a testament to Black business success, and the world-famous Four Way Grill were all founded on this historical ground.

In this community, Al Green and Hi Records produced some of the greatest music of our time and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final speech at the historic Mason Temple.

How, then, does this history relate to crime reduction in our community?

Our collective belief is that the best way to reduce crime is to create equal economic development opportunities.

We know that a working person is less

“What we’ve done in Soulsville USA is not a testament to any one person, but a collective of many determined partners who have a vision for what this community was, is today, and could be.” – Jeffrey T. Higgs (Courtesy photo) likely to commit a crime than a person who lives in poverty with no prospects of attaining sustainable income.

Moreover, a house that has a family living in it is not one that is blighted; clean streets create pride in the community.

Educated residents know how to call code enforcement and report crimes, and an informed community is a community that values itself and its neighbors.

Simply stated, the roots of crime are poverty, blight, neglect and lack of educational opportunities.

We do not have to live this way.

Crime and violence, then, are a result of our environment and how we train our children, how we treat our citizens and how we respect our neighbors.

The Bible speaks eloquently about loving thy neighbor as thyself. Violence, crime, and gun abuse are destroying our families and communities.

We must fight the elements of violence mentioned above. We do this simply by creating places that are livable and invit-

ing.

It is our responsibility, as the adults, to create and show our youth the right pathways to success. No community wants violence and crime permeating the mindsets and behavior of its citizens.

We must fight these evils with aggressive policies and funding that assist communities in this work. Programs that are effective are needed to help in the fight for crime and violence reduction.

SoulsvilleUSA has taken steps to move in this direction. We recently collaborated with residents and created a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for South Memphis/SoulsvilleUSA that was a result of hundreds of residents working together for a common goal.

We believe, as a community, we are headed in the right direction. We are incorporating lessons learned from other thriving communities that have achieved success and applying them in our own neighborhoods.

We will revitalize our community using

all the tools available in the toolbox.

As we enact this revitalization, our communities, hopefully, will begin to turn on the “lights of hope.”

We then can educate, inform, engage and revitalize all areas of our community, creating jobs for residents, removing blight and replacing it with positivity and hope.

While we cannot promise a “chicken in every pot,” we can promise we will work to create healthy, open inviting spaces, where crime has no place to hide.

Our dedication to this impactful work will provide jobs to those willing to work, create innovative educational technology and workforce training opportunity for those desiring to learn new skills and bring their skillsets back to the community.

These opportunities will be for those who would rather work than rob, cheat, or steal from their neighbor.

We are our neighbors’ keeper, and we will work to revitalize our community, thus bringing everyone along with opportunities to become engaged in the process of this revitalization movement.

Please plan to walk with us at 10 a.m.

April 9, starting and ending at the corner of Walker Ave. and Dr. Hollis F Price Boulevard (Metropolitan Baptist Church), as the Memphis Crime Commission, FFUN- Stop the Killing, Memphis Police Department, City of Memphis, community partners, students, residents and your neighbors walk through SoulsvilleUSA and College Park to bring awareness to gun violence in our community.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. Resource partners will be available to provide private services and assistance for residents, as well as answers and connections for the community’s needs.

(Jeffrey T. Higgs is an executive committee member of the Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission, a founding member of the SoulsvilleUSA Neighborhoods Development District, and CEO of LeMoyne-Owen College CDC and has worked since 1999 on revitalizing communities and creating economic development opportunities for residents of Memphis.)

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The New Tri-State Defender

March 24 - 30, 2022

RELIGION

Page 5

Rev. Dr. Ronnie C. King, senior pastor, Grace Missionary Baptist Church. (Courtesy photo)

Grace MBC’s senior pastor to keynote return of Manassas Unity Brunch

A ‘Memphis State Eight’ farewell...

Marvis LaVerne Kneeland Jones chose to attend then-Memphis State University in September 1959, becoming one of the Memphis State Eight trailblazers to desegregate what is now the University of Memphis. She died March 13 at 81. The homegoing service held Monday (March 21) at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church, 538 Linden Ave., drew family, friends and supporters, including (left) former Mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

TSD Newsroom The Rev. Dr. Ronnie C. King, pastor of Grace Missionary Baptist Church, 1203 N. Manassas, will be the guest speaker as the Manassas High School Alumni Association celebrates the 27th annual Unity Brunch benefitting the students of the high school.

The brunch returns after a two-year hiatus forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is set for April 2 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Holiday Inn-University of Memphis at 3700 Central Avenue.

Proceeds benefit graduating seniors of Manassas High School.

“Although we’ve not had the brunch for two years because of the pandemic, we are excited to resume our fundraising efforts for scholarships and to fellowship with alumni in an effort to return to some normalcy,“ said Cheryl Rivers, program chairman.

The graduating classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 will be honored in conjunction with their 50th class reunions.

Born in Coldwater, Mississippi, Dr. King announced his calling while at the University of Mississippi, where he graduated with a degree in political science. He earned a master’s degree in theology from Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas.

In the U.S. Navy, King served as a chaplain and earned a master of science degree in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University, National War College. In Quantico, Virginia, he delivered the eulogy for Frederick Clinton Branch, the first African-American officer of the U.S. Marine Corps.

An author, King’s book – “My Golden Nuggets: Life Changing Devotions and Meditations” – was published in 2011.

Tapped by the Rev. Dr. Coleman Crawford Jr. as his senior-pastor successor, he stepped into that role full time when Mr. Crawford died in March 2017.

During the Unity Brunch, there will be an emphasis on creating and promoting a safe, healthy environment. Participants must present their vaccination cards upon entrance. Cell phone snapshots are also accepted.

Anyone that has not been vaccinated must present a PCR Test Record with negative COVID test results taken within 48 hours of the brunch.

When we get together...

“Thriving – Putting Your Faith To Work” was the theme of the Church Conference held March 15-17 at Ellis Grove MBC, 3506 Macon Road. The Rev. Charles Tutton was the host pastor. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Farewell Pastor...

The life and legacy of Pastor Lawrence Edward Barksdale Sr. was celebrated last Sunday (March 20) at Olivet Fellowship Church, 4450 Knight Arnold Road, where the Rev. Dr. Zedrick Clayton is host pastor. Pastor Eric B. Givens Sr. officiated the service. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender.)

The New Tri-State Defender, March 24 - 30, 2022, Page 6

Memphis Black Restaurant Week 2022 yields $600,000 in sales for local eateries

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Seven years in and Memphis Black Restaurant Week (MBRW) creator Cynthia Daniels is savoring the sweet taste of success with more than $600,000 generated in this year’s event.

“That first year, I was able to wrangle eight whole restaurants into participating,” said Daniels. “The vision of folks really getting the concept was so real to me, I could literally see it coming to fruition. I am so grateful. This year’s receipts exceeded all we anticipated.”

MBRW 2022 ran from March 6 through March 12.

Tanocha Thedford, owner of Big Momma’s & Granny’s in Bartlett, was among the business owners whose sales jumped during the celebration.

“Our daily sales are sometimes so dismal, we barely clear $100 in sales,” said Thedford. “Just imagine how we felt seeing our daily receipts jump to more than $2,000 during Memphis Black Restaurant Week.

“It just blew us away. And we served so many newcomers, who I know will return.

That kind of money in a week has changed the trajectory of our business. We are so very grateful.”

Twenty-eight restaurants this year were part of the MBRW experience. The restaurants saw a tremendous increase in families, packing participating eateries after their Sunday worship on March 6.

Sherry Stovall, like others who patronized the restaurants, wanted to support restaurant owners from her “own community.”

“I have two teenage boys and a 22-yearold daughter,” said Stovall. “We went to

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland (left) presents Cynthia Daniels, creator of Memphis Black Restaurant Week and chief event strategist at Cynthia Daniels & Co., with a proclamation acknowledging the 2022 event. Joining them at Evelyn & Olive in Midtown was Office of Business Diversity and Compliance Director Marvel Mitchell. (Courtesy photo)

Tamika Heard, owner of Butteriffic, said Memphis Black Restaurant Week 2022 was a winner from day one for her business, which participated for the first time. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender) Chef Tam’s Underground Restaurant after church because I want them to understand the importance of supporting your own people.

“You can eat (at) other places, but don’t neglect Black restaurants. When buying Black becomes second nature, we are helping our own businesspeople.”

Daniels said she knew the numbers were going to be fantastic for those restaurants who bought into this year’s affair.

“Last year, most of the restaurants were closed to in-house dining because of the pandemic,” said Daniels. “But we encouraged people to support Black restaurant owners by ordering take out and delivery.

“The 2021 numbers tell the story. With 21 restaurants and more than 31,000 pa-

“It just blew us away.

And we served so many newcomers, who I know will return. That kind of money in a week has changed the trajectory of our business.

We are so very grateful.”

— Tanocha Thedford trons, restaurants saw $525,000 total sales.

Many of those owners said last year’s receipts kept their doors open. I was so encouraged by that.”

Daniels pointed out that she is from Atlanta and that there is a reason the city is

called “Hot Lanta.”

“Black entrepreneurs have been moving and shaking for decades,” she said, adding “I knew Memphis had that special something that would make Black Restaurant Week what it has become. Even with the small beginning of eight restaurants, I never lost sight of what the event could become.”

Other cities have also enjoyed Black Restaurant Week success. Among them are Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte and Philadelphia.

Daniels said the event demonstrates the power of “our Black dollar.” “…There is power in spending our dollars in our community. We were able to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in just one week. Imagine what could happen if we patronized our own all year round – not just restaurants. We have within our power the answer to seeing our own communities prosper.”

Mayor Jim Strickland enjoyed lunch on March 8 at Evelyn & Olive in Midtown.

Daniels and Memphis Black Restaurant Week were honored with a proclamation from the City of Memphis.

Strickland called Memphis Black Restaurant Week “a wonderful new tradition.”

Memphis Soulful Food Truck Festival …

The sixth annual Memphis Soulful Food Truck Festival was held last Sunday at Tiger Lane. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

The festival bookends Memphis Black Restaurant Week.

Creator Cynthia Daniels said the festival drew 30 Blackowned food trucks in addition to other vendors and live music.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 24 - 30, 2022

Page 7

ENTERTAINMENT

Johnnie Taylor among newest Blues Hall of Fame members

by Associated Press Hollywood Hustle beer and Disco Dynamite seltzer were inspired by the spirit and legacy of Paula Raiford’s late father, Robert Raiford.

(Courtesy photo)

‘Go-to’ beverage set for Paula & Raiford’s thanks to Grind City Brewing Company TSD Newsroom Paula Raiford, owner of Paula & Raiford’s Disco, and Grind City Brewing Company are set to launch two new Raiford Disco-inspired beer flavors.

The beverage flavors, Hollywood Hustle beer and Disco Dynamite seltzer, were inspired by the spirit and legacy of Raiford’s late father, Robert Raiford.

The newly crafted beers will debut and be available at the disco at 14 South Second St. exclusively on Friday (March 25).

The Raiford name has been a staple in the community since Robert established the original disco dance hall in 1976.

Since then, Paula Raiford has carried on the late-night torch and her club is a Downtown destination every Friday and

Saturday night.

“In everyday life, I’m always trying to make my dad proud,” said Raiford. “I still think about him and wonder, ‘What would he want me to do…how would he want me to keep his name alive?’ This is a celebration and I know he’d be proud of what I have created.”

Lane StLuka, sales director and manager of Sponsorships and Partnerships at Grind City, saw an opportunity to produce and craft the specialty beers that would be the go-to beverage while partying at the disco.

“Knowing that Paula was dedicated to doing this and carrying on her father’s legacy, we knew that this was something special we should support,” StLuka said.

The doors at Paula & Raiford’s Disco open at 10 p.m., with sections available to reserve.

Five people, an album, five singles and a book have been chosen to join this year’s Blues Hall of Fame class.

The Memphis-based Blues Foundation said the 12 newest honorees of the Blues Hall of Fame will be celebrated at an event on May 4.

Singers Lucille Bogan, Little Willie John and Johnnie Taylor are among the hall’s newest members.

Songwriter Otis Blackwell, who wrote “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up” for Elvis Presley and “Breathless” and “Great Balls of Fire” for Jerry Lee Lewis, is also being honored by the hall.

So is Mary Katherine Aldin, who has spent decades as a DJ and compiler or annotator of blues and folk reissue albums.

An album by Bo Diddley and singles by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Roy Brown, B.B. King and the Baby Face Leroy Trio also will enter the hall.

The book “Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast,” written by Bruce Bastin, also has been named to the hall.

Johnnie Taylor, 1967 (Photo: Wikimedia)

Born in Crawfordsville, Ark., Johnny Taylor grew up in West Memphis.

He joined Stax in 1966 and reached stardom.

“I resent being called African American because Black people have contributed so much to the development of the United States of America.” — Smokey Robinson

Motown Legend Smokey Robinson stirs social media saying he resents being called African American

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Legendary singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson has come under fire – at least on social media – because the icon said, “Black is a race,” and that “I resent being called African American.”

“I resent being called African American because Black people have contributed so much to the development of the United States of America,” Robinson, 82, stated during a virtual appearance on The View, which has since gone viral.

“I think that when you do that, you’re disclaiming all the things, the contributions that Black people have made to America,” he said.

The icon’s comments reflected those he made nearly two decades ago during an appearance on Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry when he recited a poem that he hoped would educate individuals about the Black experience.

While some backed the entertainer, others trolled him.

“The facts that ‘Black is a race’ and ‘African American is an ethnicity’ really whoops y’all’s asses,” Twitter user @_Elle_ Spencer_ wrote in response to Robinson, calling him an “idiot.”

Twitter user @LifeDutchee, a self-described retired drug dealer, also went in on Robinson.

“A man born in the 1940s is on the internet telling people to drop the African and just call him Black American. Cause he had never been to Africa. What’s the stages of Dementia?” the social media user replied.

Others objected to the icon’s detractors.

“I understand what Smokey Robinson is explaining,” Twitter user @gracefully_Tori wrote. “I love being called Black American as well. I thought I was the only one who didn’t like to be called African American.”

Once identified by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” Robinson, a Rock’ n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters’

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden greets Smokey Robinson at the Kennedy Center Honors Medallion Ceremony at the Library of Congress, December 4, 2021. (Photo: Shawn Miller/Library of Congress) Hall of Fame inductee, still stuck to his guns.

“I consider myself to be a Black American, and I enjoy being called Black, and Black has been so negativized as a color down throughout history by those who wanted to negativize it,” Robinson explained, adding that contributions by Black people should be recognized similarly to their white peers.

“And so, it spilled over into

the Black community and to the Black people. And even Black people back in the day calling each other Black was a sign for a fight.”

He concluded: “I resent being called African American because Black people have contributed so much to the development of the United States of America. The wonderful Black American, who served in the armed forces and gave their lives

in all the wars.

“They did not do that for Timbuktu or Capetown, or Kenya.

They did that for Louisiana and Mississippi and Texas and Virginia. Okay? So that’s how I feel about it.”

(Follow Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent: @StacyBrownMedia.)

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, March 24 - 30, 2022, Page 8

Memphis seniors in MHA housing will return to on-site medical clinics

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Seniors returning to their Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) residences will find an onsite medical clinic on the main floor.

“Many of our seniors have specific medical needs which require frequent trips to a doctor’s office,” said MHA Executive Director Dexter Washington. “We considered how we could make medical care more accessible and convenient for our elders. This concept is trending in the senior affordable housing market. We contracted to include five new clinics.”

Great fanfare was made on Monday, Mar. 14, in a ceremonial groundbreaking in front of the College Park Senior Building kick off a $50 million renovation project of affordable rental housing across three College Park sites. Another $20 million will be spent on Uptown rehabs and a new 131-unit residence.

In addition to the renovation plans, Washington and his staff recently signed an agreement with Matter Health Clinic design to have the clinics grafted into those plans.

“Adding the Matter Health Clinics will not prolong original renovation timelines,” said Wash-

ington. “We are still looking to begin bringing our seniors back, hopefully, in nine months. I will personally be on renovation sites each week to make sure the work is adequately progressing.”

Just before the Christmas holiday last year, residents received letters saying renovations would get underway in 2022 and temporary relocation would be necessary. Tears and fears among seniors led Washington to visit facilities and speak with seniors personally.

“Many thought these were evictions, but I promised our seniors they would return home as soon as possible,” said Washington. “It was difficult for them to leave their apartment units, so we want them to find more than just new appliances and updated bathrooms. They will only have to come down the elevator for a doctor’s appointment. No more worries about mobility issues and transportation.”

Several MHA affordable housing projects were sold to BGC Advantage last year to forge a partnership. The merger addresses the problem of securing sustained funding of public housing. MHA is participating in the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program.

RAD is a federal program that allows public housing agencies sell properties to private

owners for the purpose of renovating to avoid costly disrepair.

“The professional relocation team assisted our seniors with temporary living arrangements, and they will be available for their return home,” said Washington. All four senior towers will have a clinic, and negotiations are being completed for a fifth clinic. Improvements will be completed in stages, allowing some residents to return in about nine months.”

The Matter Health clinic team will include a primary care physician, a nurse practitioner, and a patient concierge. The team will focus on preventive care matters as well as work in conjunction with medical personnel already working with the patient.

Holistic medical care will be provided, which means that care is available, not only for physical needs, but also for mental and emotional health, according to the company’s website. It is the concept of caring for the “whole person,” thus, the holistic or “wholistic” care model.

Members of the care team will not change, allowing staff to build a close and trusting relationship with seniors. Such amenities as sameday visits, longer appointments as needed, and real-time computer interactions, for digital-

Memphis Housing Authority Executive Director Dexter Washington said planned, on-site medical clinics for seniors will address residents’ worries about mobility issues and transportation. (Courtesy photo) ly savvy patients who prefer a hybrid mix of in-person and digital appointments.

In addition to primary care, clinics will offer urgent care and mental health services for residents. Medicare is accepted, but services will be offered to all residents, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.

All clinic sites will be constructed on the main, lobby level, with a space of 300-500 sq. ft. The design will include a patient lounge and private exam room.

For additional information on clinic design and operation, go to: matterhealthcare.com.

Former state Sen. Katrina Robinson sentenced to probation for fraud

by Adrian Sainz Associated Press

Former Tennessee state Sen. Katrina Robinson – expelled from office after a conviction for using federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of the nursing school she operates – has been sentenced to a year of probation but no prison time.

Robinson had faced four to 10 months in prison under sentencing guidelines after she was found guilty in September of two counts of wire fraud in Memphis federal court.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman departed from the guidelines at sentencing (March 18), saying Robinson had already suffered greatly and the Memphis community would gain no benefit from prison time for the nursing school administrator, community leader and mother of two.

Robinson, a Democrat, was elected to represent District 33 in the state Senate in 2018.

She was removed from office last month by the Republican-led Senate in a vote along party lines.

The criminal case against Robinson involved federal grant money for a school for health care workers she started running before she was elected to public office.

In July 2020, prosecutors accused Robinson of paying personal expenses from more than $600,000 in federal grant money awarded to The Healthcare Institute, which trains nurses and focuses on helping low-income minority students. She was ultimately convicted of only two of 20 counts, involving about $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016.

Before the 27-5 vote to remove her from the Senate, Robinson argued that she had been unfairly judged by the white-majority body. She called it a “procedural lynching,” prompting cheers of support that the Republican speaker gaveled down. Some of her supporters in the gallery were in tears and others stood in solidarity.

It was the first time the chamber had removed a senator since at least the Civil War. On Friday, prosecutor Christopher Cotten asked the judge to sentence Robinson to 10 months in prison, saying she had shown “abject defiance of accepting any responsibility for her actions” and had unfairly blamed racism for the charges.

During the sentencing hearing, Robinson told the judge that she understood the importance of her case and acknowledged that she did not keep a “tight eye on things.”

Lipman, the judge, said she read 57 letters of support for Robinson. Former students and current employees described her as a great mother, nurturing educator, inspiring com-

During a post-trial press conference, State Sen. Katrina Robinson maintained that she had been targeted “based upon who I am, what I am and what I do.” (Screen capture) munity leader and dedicated nurse. Robinson traveled outside Tennessee during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic to help care for sick patients in hospitals.

However, Lipman also scolded Robinson for blaming the charges on “hot button issues” such as race, although the judge did acknowledge past cases of racial injustice in the court system. Lipman criticized Robinson’s sloppy record-keeping and added that Robinson failed to respect the federal grant funded by taxpayers by not giving it proper attention.

The judge gave Robinson some advice.

“Someone who tries to do everything needs to edit, and needs to edit desperately,” Lipman said.

Lipman also ruled Friday that Robinson had committed perjury during her trial when she defended an email that said money she used on her wedding was for a community patient education event and should be covered by grant money.

After the hearing, Robinson told reporters that she felt probation was appropriate and she plans to continue working in the community.

“Most of the stuff that I talked about as it relates to race has to do with my Senate expulsion first of all, and just the overall pattern since the beginning of times when Black elected officials were able to serve — not necessarily that I do not accept responsibility for this case,” Robinson said.

While she gets to avoid prison, Robinson has already paid a steep price, both to her reputation and her finances, said her lawyer, Lawrence Laurenzi. Robinson has struggled in securing a checking account, her retirement account has been seized by the federal government, and she could lose her nursing license, the lawyer said.

Laurenzi said he plans to appeal the conviction.

After Robinson’s expulsion from the Senate, the Shelby County Commission chose Democratic state Rep. London Lamar, to replace her. Commissioners will choose Lamar’s replacement in the state House.

(This Associated Press story is by Adrian Sainz.)

Davina Jones, founder and executive director of Couture Cares, set the tone throughout for the Her Prom Closet event. (Courtesy photo)

Donated prom dresses still fit the need through Her Prom Closest

by Brianna Smith-Herman Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The need is as real today as it was eight years ago when HER Prom Closest first stepped up to ensure that more local young ladies would have an opportunity for an unforgettable prom night.

This year (on March 12), Hickory Ridge Mall was transformed into an enormous department store with HER Prom Closet providing formal wear to girls who could not otherwise afford to attend their proms.

Through donations of new and gently-used formal dresses, HER Prom Closet turned those dresses into dreams for juniors and seniors in Memphis, Desoto County and surrounding areas in the MidSouth.

“HER Prom Closet was an amazing experience,” said McKenzie Lyles, a recipient.

“I’m so relieved. I wouldn’t have been able to attend prom if I hadn’t found a dress today.”

Elegant formal gowns, prom dresses and pageantry-wear lined several rows. There were private dressing rooms on both sides and each girl was given a personal shopper to help them navigate through the numerous choices.

“I Said Yes to the Prom Dress” was the catchphrase signaling that one of the girls had found a choice to their liking.

Entering the room, each was greeted with tunes provided by DJ ShaKevia Newsum. Excitement, grace, love and respect from the many volunteers and greeters soon followed.

Her Prom Closet is an extension of the non-profit Couture Cares, whose founder and executive director is Davina Jones. Her ongoing vision is to plant seeds of change in the minds, hearts and lives of youth in Memphis, regardless of ethnicity or religion.

Guest speaker Dionne Jones-Woody, an elementary assistant superintendent in Jackson Public Schools, came ready with this message: “Be pretty on the outside but also pretty on the inside. … Your attitude depends on your altitude. You can be pretty, but if you don’t have a good attitude in life, it won’t get you far.”

A seamstress was on-site pinning dresses for any needed alterations.

“It is our mission that the girls leave knowing they are cherished,” Jones said.

Lunch was provided by ChickFilA. Sweet treats and goody bags also were given to each of the attendees.

Since its inception, HER Prom Closet has assisted 1,600-plus young ladies.

“My overall goal is providing the community with deep knowledge and creative solutions to address needs and opportunities,” Jones said.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 24 - 30, 2022

NEWS

U.S. hospital welcomes first Ukraine child cancer patients

by Kimberlee Kruesi Associated Press

` Four Ukrainian children with cancer and their families arrived Tuesday at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, marking the first hospital in the U.S. to receive patients from Ukraine, officials announced.

According to St. Jude, the families traveled aboard a U.S. government medical transport aircraft from Krakow, Poland.

Some of the children held white unicorn stuffed animals and Ukrainian flags as they walked into the hospital, according to video provided by St. Jude.

“Our promise to children with catastrophic diseases extends around the globe, and we are honored to play a part in helping these families move to safety to continue their children’s treatment,” St. Jude President and CEO James R. Downing said in a statement.

More than 400 Ukrainian

children with cancer have been evacuated to a clinic in Poland. Doctors are rapidly working to place them in one of some 200 hospitals in 28 countries. Evacuations began immediately after Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24 and is a joint effort of St. Jude, the Polish Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Poland’s Fundacja Herosi (Heroes Foundation), and Tabletochki, a Ukrainian charity that advocates for children with cancer.

“While there is more work ahead, we are committed to doing as much as we can as fast as swiftly as possible,” said Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, director of St. Jude Global.

The young patients who arrived in Memphis range from nine months to nine years in age. They will receive complex medical care, as well as trauma-informed psychosocial therapy. St. Jude is also developing school curriculum for the patients and their siblings.

CLASSIFIEDS

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000706A Shady Oaks Pump Station Improvements. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www. shelbycountytn.gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above described Sealed Bid. SEALED BID I000706A DUE DATE TUESDAY, APRIL 26TH, @ 2:00 PM (CST) (SB-I000706A SHADY OAKS PUMP STATION IMPROVEMENTS) Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/739738981 You can also dial in using your phone.

(For supported devices, tap a one-touch number below to join instantly.)

United States: +1 (408) 650-3123 - One-touch: tel:+14086503123,,739738981# Access Code: 739-738-981 MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING – A mandatory pre-proposal meeting to address questions will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. (CST). Until further notice, all Shelby County Government Purchasing Public-facing meetings/services will be limited to phone, video and online transactions whenever possible. Vendors can access the meeting via teleconference by utilizing the following access codes: Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/661964621 You can also dial in using your phone.

(For supported devices, tap a one-touch number below to join instantly.)

United States: +1 (872) 240-3212 - One-touch: tel:+18722403212,,661964621# Access Code: 661-964-621 Respondents may also contact Shelby County for information at the following numbers, TTY Number (901) 222-2301 or for information in Spanish 901-222-4289.

Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free, and with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service. Shelby County encourages participation from WBE, MBE, LOSB, and Section 3 firms and vendors under this CDBG-NDR response.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Teaming up to clean up...

Tylan Williams, Eagle School Project in conjunction with Memphis City Beautiful and help from PST and the Memphis Police Department powered this cleanup at Elvis Presley Blvd. and Brooks Rd. last Saturday (March 19) morning. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Tennessee announces $50M in grants to expand tutoring push

NASHVILLE (AP) – Tennessee education officials have announced $50 million in grants to expand a tutoring program.

The state Department of Education says the additional money will help expand the TN ALL Corps program to offer tutoring to another 30,000 at-risk students in first through eighth grades.

The additional money will

be awarded through eight grants ranging from $4.5 million to $9 million.

Community organizations that apply for and receive the grant money will provide tutoring for English language arts and math at a ratio of one adult to three students in grades 1-5 and one adult to four students in grades 6-8.

The application deadline is April 22.

Page 9

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000725, Surveillance Cameras & Light Tower Trailers for the Shelby County Emergency Management Homeland Security Department.

Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn.gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above described Sealed Bid. SEALED BID I000725 DUE DATE MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022 @2:30 PM (CST) (SB-I000725) Surveillance Cameras & Light Tower Trailers – Shelby County Emergency Management/Homeland Security Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY

TSD CLASSIFIEDS 1509 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN 38104 PH (901) 523-1818 HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

DEADLINES: Display ads Friday 5 p.m.

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STANDARD RATES: $6.00 per line for 1 column ad.

Rates are non-commissionable and are quoted at the net rate. No refund for early cancellation. For additional information contact Sales Dept. at (901) 746-5201 or email: advertising@tsdmemphis.com.

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All ads subject to credit approval. The New Tri-State Defender reserves the right to correctly classify and edit all copy or to reject or cancel any ad at any time. Only standard abbreviations accepted. Copy change during ordered schedule constitutes new ad & new changes. Deadlines for cancellation are identical to placement deadlines. Rates subject to change.

THE NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER assumes no financial responsibility for errors nor for copy omission.

Direct any classified billing inquires to (901) 523-1818.

GOVERNMENT

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Derrick Craig, Jr. Tax Parcel #: 03700800000180 Tax Sale #: 1701 Price Offered: $18,750.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:30 a.m. on April 25, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Derrick Craig, Jr. Tax Parcel #: 07521600000030 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $20,500.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on April 25, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Jesus Perez Tax Parcel #: M0115000003190 Tax Sale #: 1701 Price Offered: $7500.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:30 a.m. on April 25, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Kelsey Teague Tax Parcel #: 04507600000220 Tax Sale #: 1701 Price Offered: $3000.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on April 25, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

Anya Wallace Tax Parcel #: 03506100000270 Tax Sale #: 505 Price Offered: $1012.50 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on April 22, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 04306600000120 Tax Sale #: 1701 Price Offered: $8,300.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:00 p.m. on April 22, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Anthony Janet Tax Parcel #: 07612700000610 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $36,000.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice.

If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:30 p.m. on April 22, 2022, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

NOTICE OF INTENT TO TAXING AUTHORITIES You are hereby notified that The Shelby County Board of Commissioners and The City Council of the City of Memphis, Tennessee are planning to hear and take action on creating a Redevelopment Trust Fund for the South Memphis / Soulsville Area (Please see the included map). The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will likely take action on a certain ordinance on May 9, 2022 and The Memphis City Council will hear the same on April 5, 2022. Subsequent or alternate meetings will be published in the Daily News and New Tri-State Defender newspapers.

A Finding of Conditions Necessary for Community Redevelopment in a South Memphis / Soulsville Area and Adoption of a Community Redevelopment Plan for the South Memphis / Soulsville Area by joint resolution of The Board of County Commissioners of Shelby County, Tennessee and Council of the City of Memphis is prerequisite to creating the South Memphis / Soulsville Redevelopment Trust Fund for the Area. The South Memphis / Soulsville Community Redevelopment Plan for the Area, specifies how community redevelopment activities can facilitate the rehabilitation, conservation, or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of this area, including economic development funded by tax increment revenue calculated at a property tax baseline established by a certain date in order to implement tax increment financing; and fund the redevelopment trust fund to finance improvements in the Area.

For additional information contact Andrew Z. Murray, Director of Planning and Community Development, City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency, 850 N. Manassas St., Memphis, TN 38107; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 70386, Memphis, TN 38107, Telephone: (901) 304-7921.

SPORTS The New Tri-State Defender, March 24 - 30, 2022, Page 10

Memphis vs Gonzaga:

The big game the Tigers almost won

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

PORTLAND, Oregon – In the madness of the NCAA Tournament, there is no extra credit for style points. It is all about survive and advance. Accounting for the will to win, teams have to figure out how to get the job done and execute.

Against Gongaza, the No. 1-ranked team in the field, Memphis came up four points (82-78) short, ending the Tigers’ quest Terry to move beDavis yond the second round and on to the Sweet 16.

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, whose college and pro resume fully qualifies him to make this assessment, put the clash between the Tigers (seeded ninth) and the Bulldogs this way: “What a great game, man!”

Even a casual observer likely would have concluded the same.

The Tigers, up by 10 at halftime, went into the break “confident because we have to be,” said Hardaway. “We understand that we were the underdog and we were going to have to fight these guys. …”

Memphis willed its margin to 12 and then the Drew-Timme factor exploded in full effect. Gonzaga’s star forward, who had four points in the first half, finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists.

“He made some tough shots, controlled the game, got our guys in foul trouble and the rest is history,” Hardaway said. “Feel like he got every offensive rebound or every foul or every bucket for them. …

“We witnessed that from the TV a bunch, just watching him be so dominant … he made some fantastic shots. I mean, great defense. And he still made them.

That’s why he is who he is. Overall, I’m proud of my guys for fighting to get us to this point and I hope we made our school and our city proud.”

Having earned the right to take on Gonzaga with its 64-53 opening-round win over the Boise State Broncos, Memphis as a basketball program never had defeated a tournament team ranked No.1.

“What a heck of a ball game, man,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “Both teams just competing their tails off and it’s probably as physical of a game as we have been in all year.”

How did Gonzaga overcome the Tigers? “(W)e had to dig very, very deep,” said Few. “The way we came out fighting in the second half I thought was more who we are. And then we just did a great job down the stretch, executing all our late-game stuff to get it done.”

It was blow-for-blow in the first 14 minutes. Memphis edged ahead (23-22) on a Malcolm Dandridge dunk with 5:56 left in the first half. With 4:25 left in the half, a technical foul was called

The game featured a matchup of freshman-sensation centers Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga and Memphis’ Jalen Duren, with Duren winning the opening tip. To the far left is Gongaza’s star forward Drew Timme, who was a game-changer in the second half.

Tyler Harris was a huge offensive spark for the Tigers in the first half when he scored the bulk of his 13 points. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender)

Malcolm Dandridge slams en route to two of his eight points in 24 minutes.

The finality of the season hits Memphis guard Landers Nolley II, who is comforted by teammate Josh Minott (right). on the Gonzaga bench after a foul on Memphis guard Tyler Harris.

Memphis led 31-26 after Harris connected from the free-throw line.

The Tigers, an 11.5-point underdog by most sportsbooks, climbed to an 11-point advantage with 42 seconds left in the half and took a 41-31 lead into the break despite foul concerns about freshman-phenom center Jalen Duren (7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block), who ended up playing only 19 minutes After the break, the game became a poster for a tale of two halves. Gonzaga spurted to an 11-4 run (45-42) and got the crowd, which heavily favored the Bulldogs, back into the game with 15:34 left to play. Timme scored the first 11 points.

Gonzaga shot 15 free throws in the second half compared to only six by the Tigers. And while the

Bulldogs were shaky at the free throw for much of the game, they came up clutch down the stretch, aided by the hot hand of guard Andrew Nembhard (23 points, 5 assists).

Against a good defensive Memphis team, Gonzaga was able to shoot 52 percent from the floor.

The Bulldogs’ relentless pursuit of the lead propelled them to a 51-51 tie with 12:52 left on a basket by their freshman-sensation center Chet Holmgren (9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks).

They captured their first lead of the second half with 10:14 left when Timme manufactured a second-chance basket.

Down by seven points (7669) with 2:17 remaining, the Tigers’ Lester Quinones made a three-pointer with 33 seconds to go, cutting the deficit to 2 points (78-76). Nembhard’s four free throws in the waning moments sealed the victory for Gonzaga, which reached the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight year.

And while a Sweet 16 matchup between the Tigers and Arkansas would have kindled thoughts of titanic battles of the past, it’s Gonzaga’s Bulldogs who advanced to face the Razorbacks in San Francisco on Thursday (March 24).

Memphis’ DeAndre Williams (14 points, 7 rebounds) tangles with Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, who proved to be pretty much unguardable one-on-one in the second half.